Regulations of Electric Scooters
When Pedestrians Are Struck by Motorized Vehicles
The experienced Arizona legal team at the Law Office of Paul Englander, PLC can provide you with personalized legal guidance in a confidential, risk-free consultation setting.
What if You’re Unsure of Whether You Want to File Legal Action?
You don’t need to know whether you’ll ultimately want to file legal action to explore your options with our Tempe, AZ pedestrian accident lawyer. Depending on your preferences and your unique circumstances, you may want to approach the process of compensation in one of two primary ways.
First, if you – for whatever reason – choose not to file a formal personal injury lawsuit, our team can negotiate with insurance claims adjusters on your behalf. You may choose this “path” because it makes the most sense strategically and/or because you don’t want to assume the stress of filing a lawsuit. If you aren’t filing formal legal action, you may be wondering why you’d need to work with a lawyer at all. Insurance companies (both your own insurer and other insurers invested in your case, likely because they represent the operator of the vehicle that harmed you) are private businesses. As a result, they are ultimately most concerned with protecting their bottom line. They will therefore likely look for any excuse to either reject your claim or to pay you a settlement that is undervalued. Our team understands how to negotiate and advocate in such a way that our clients receive fair settlements. Speaking with claims adjusters yourself can unintentionally result in a lower settlement. Allowing us to advocate on your behalf can minimize your stress and better ensure a properly valued settlement.
Second, you can choose to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you choose to move forward with this option, our firm will work with you to build the strongest case possible. We will need to gather information at the beginning of the process in order to begin building your case. Note however that after that point, we’ll do our best to handle the legal “heavy lifting” associated with your situation so that you can focus on healing. While building your case, we will seek to prove that the operator of the motorized vehicle that hit you owed you a legal duty of care, breached that duty, and that their breach resulted in your injuries. Essentially, this means that we’ll seek to establish that the vehicle operator was behaving negligently, recklessly, or in an intentionally harmful way and that their behavior resulted in your injuries.
Regulations of Electric Scooters
Electric Scooters have become a popular method for getting around urban and university areas. They are more affordable than car services such as Uber and Lift, they are faster than walking, and they offer more flexibility than a bicycle. A rider can find a scooter on their phone at a location nearby, and then they can simply leave the scooter near their destination. The user only needs to download an app, upload a copy of their driver’s license to show they are over 18 years of age, sign a safety agreement, and provide a credit card number. When serious injuries occur a pedestrian accident lawyer in Tempe, Arizona should be contacted.
The rise in the use of electric scooters has corresponded with a rise in injuries. The rapidly growing number of electric scooter injuries has cities around the country scrambling to find ways to keep their citizens safe. Some universities and cities are banning electric scooters to avoid problems.
At Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, AZ the school is not allowing any scooters on campus. ASU’s administration is working with scooter companies to create parking areas around the edge of campus where students can leave their scooters and walk to their destination on campus.
ASU will impound any scooter left on campus and charge a fee to the scooter companies. The three major scooter companies Bird, Lime, and Razor are working with ASU to comply with the new policies. There are plans to create an educational scooter safety campaign.
ASU and the City of Tempe want to find an appropriate model for electric scooter use in which safety is the top priority. Other universities around the country are also assessing how to regulate electric scooters and keep students safe. A pedestrian accident lawyer in Tempe AZ can advise a victim about legal claims for damages.
Scottsdale has continued to adjust the rules of where they can be used and parked. The basic guidelines are that scooters must be used on roads, not sidewalks, no scooters in Scottsdale parks or parking garages, and no scooters staged on sidewalks.
The City of Phoenix is considering bringing scooters to the downtown redevelopment zone of Phoenix. Safety is a big concern. They are proposing a one-year pilot program to evaluate the safety, value, and impact of electric scooters in downtown Phoenix. The scooters could be docked between McDowell and Buckeye and Seventh Avenue to Seventh Street. Riders would be able to ride out of that zone, but the scooter companies would be required to collect the scooters at night. Rules would include that scooters must meet safety and durability standards, and must have working front and backlights.
The limits being put in place by universities and cities are a result of the growing safety concerns. Emergency rooms report sharp increases in electric scooter injuries.
There are concerns that the scooters are not properly maintained or inspected. The small print on some agreements states that riders are responsible for performing a “basic safety inspection” of the brakes, lights and other signs of damage.
Another safety issue with the electronic scooters is that they were designed by manufacturers for personal use. They were not necessarily built to withstand the intensive use and extended exposure to extreme temperatures of a “dockless” rental service.
Scooters present new and increasing safety concerns for motorists and pedestrians. If serious injuries occur following a collision a pedestrian accident lawyer in Tempe AZ should be consulted, there should be a free consultation. Call the Law Office of Paul Englander, PLC today!